Just got this the other day in CD format. Very nice and spacey, reminiscent of his earlier releases like "Shoreline of An End," though, according to the liner notes, it was created using a generative system.

I am sure I will continue playing the gu zheng; it's a special instrument and of course I have fond memories associated with it. I actually have 2 of them, a large one with silk-wound strings and a smaller steel-stringed one that is more of a beginner's instrument. Funny that you should mention the dan bau. I have one of those, too; very tough to play--all harmonics!

9dragons,

Zhang Yan has only 2 CDs I'm aware of; one was released in Taiwan and the other in Hong Kong. The first one features more solo performances and the second one is orchestral and features a chromatic "double zheng" that was built for her. I don't know if they are still available.

Yes, I've considered the guqin. Very cool sounding. Thought it was a bit tough for me to me to tackle. No frets--only dots on the fingerboard and a lot of glissandi. I used to have an LP by David Liang Ming.

Mirko,

Yes, I play gu zheng on track 6 of 'Temple..'--an extended improv that Robert somehow coaxed into shape. I met Robert at a Jorge Reyes concert in 1994; I was introduced to him by Stephen Hill of HOS. As for your question about Robert's hand injury, I don't think it has completely healed, but he has made adjustments as to what he can play and has even built new flutes to accommodate his playing limitations.

Do you know if some artist used Guzheng or Guqin out of chinese traditional music ? in ambient music pheraps ?

I studied gu zheng for several years with Zhang Yan (a master musician from Mainland China who performed for Nixon when he visited China) from the mid-80s to the early-90s. Zheng is a prominent instrument on my "World Diary" and "Folklore" albums, and is even present on my earlier "Wolf At the Ruins" CD. Yan was a very special teacher who died young in 1997. I have not played the instrument much since Yan passed away, although I did play it on Robert Rich's "Temple of the Invisible" in 2003.

1. Why should an undiscovered talent with $800 to their name and no health insurance, end up getting their music buried in history because Steve Roach needed a second house, a new car and some exotic vacation?

Pissing on an established ambient artist is probably not the best way to bring attention to your new label. Thought your response to Jim Brenholt's posting in another thread about not being able to download your label's music was a bit harsh, too. Hard to escape the irony that you are making your arguments on the virtues of your "free" music on the forum of an established ambient label. Maybe you should consider giving some of your sales royalties to Hypnos for enabling you to publicize your fledgling label. Best of of luck with your new label, anyway.

Can I ask you what source you used ? I mean: do you used synths or these drones come from acoustic (metallic objects) processing ?

Hi Giorgio,

Most of the sources were acoustic in nature (e.g., violin, marxolin, wine glasses), though that was not by design. The project was really an extension of my work on Foundry's "Bibimbap" project, where the participants tried to turn unused sounds and even partial pieces into something that sounded more interesting.

Hello also to Mirko. Thanks for picking it up. Hope that you enjoy it.

Randy Newman - Harps and Angels (a return to form like his 'Good Old Boys' period; am very jazzed that he will be performing in SF this fall)Milieu & Quosp - Grassland Melodies (very nice split netrelease in an ambient vein that fell under my radar)

My view on this has evolving somewhat. Although I agree with Anthony that there is the issue of dilution, my greater concern is that of quality control. This issue has always been there, from the days of mp3.com. It may be asking too much to expect an artist who may be too close to his or her own music to be an efficient editor/filter of the material that is to be released as well. I think it is more respectful to the listener's time if less rather than more is released. It's not just the wasted time in downloading a file, it's wasted time for the disappointed consumer listening, too. I think that traditional labels still perform a valuable function not only as curators with a particular aesthetic/vision, but also as gatekeepers, so that only releases that meet a certain threshold get released. Maybe a well-run netlabel such as Resting Bell or Monotonik can serve the same function, but there are only so many hours in the day to spend trawling for free music.

My Gongland release is up there on emusic, but my Cuneiform releases (Folklore, Blind Messenger) are only on Itunes. I may make some my older releases such as Wolf At the Ruins available digitally in the not-too-distant future.

Hello Ekstasis. Have you worked with analog synths before? If not, I think you might find analog synths or software analog synth emulators like the Arturia Moog more transparent in showing you how electronic sound is created. From there, I would add in effects such as echo and reverb, but too many effects at the outset may make difficult to troubleshoot what you are hearing in case you want to modify it. Those presets you are describing probably have quite a few effects attached to them.

Forrest

Hello, I have worked only with digital synths before, I am going to try Zero-G Phaedra Ultimate Analog synth during this week, we will see if I like it.

About the Arturia Moog, I did check it on the website the "Analog Factory Experience" software/hardware combo, I did like the interface a lot, but the actual sounds is not something I like, they sound very old school 70s sounds, this is not at all the sounds I want.

I was thinking that an analog hardware or virtual interface would be useful for purposes of breaking down the sound into its basic components (VCO, VCA, VCF, ASDR, and so forth). These are basic principles that you could apply to other virtual or hardware instruments that had sounds you found more interesting. Starting with a complex opaque interface seems to be putting the cart before the horse. I found it much easier to program my first digital synth because I had had basic training on a Moog Mark V many many moons ago.

Hello Ekstasis. Have you worked with analog synths before? If not, I think you might find analog synths or software analog synth emulators like the Arturia Moog more transparent in showing you how electronic sound is created. From there, I would add in effects such as echo and reverb, but too many effects at the outset may make difficult to troubleshoot what you are hearing in case you want to modify it. Those presets you are describing probably have quite a few effects attached to them.

Igneous Flame - Hydra (complex fog banks of treated guitar. Great stuff. He has a nice track on the Hypnos "Sounds of a Universe Overheard" comp, too.)David Torn - Prezens (this one went right past me. I think prefer his spacier "Cloud About Mercury" period, but it might just be a grower)

I was under the impression that Lloyd was continuing at least some of his operations under a different name. Here is part of his announcement to the Spacemusic list:

as of August 1, 2008, Backroads Music will suspend operations.

Lloyd Barde Productions will be launched by September 1st, & will continue to sell CDs from extensive stock on hand. Same location, with this contact info: Address remains: 401A Tamal Plaza, Corte Madera, CA 94925 Phone remains: 415-924-4848 (same as before). The 800# will be discontinued August 1st. Email as of August 1st (New; please change!): lloyd@well.com starts 8/1/08 (backroad@well.com will be forwarded for a period of time after the change) Web site: <http://www.backroadsmusic.com> will be gone August 1st. A new web site for LLOYD BARDE PRODUCTIONS will be up by September 1st!

The ambient practitioners are taking Western music back into the awareness of pure sound in the moment, kind of like a zen ideal, or a general awareness of music taken out of linear thinking modes.

A nice observation. I feel that some of my most inspired work comes from creating "in the moment" via improvisation, though, more times than not, I'm tempted to shape my improvs into a more seemingly structured form. Strangely, I'm not always aware that I'm creating something sonically interesting until after I have left it for a while.

...and I'm with Bill. There is a danger of becoming too smug and insular about the subjective perception of art.

It came with my computer (running XP), but I think you can get it for free at the above link. I'm not sure if the above version can do slide shows, but the version on my computer seems to have an option for importing pictures.